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Predators' playoff hopes all but gone

NASHVILLE — The standings don't lie. While mathematically alive in the playoff race, the Predators are done. Any realistic chance they had of making it to the postseason evaporated with the final buzzer at

While mathematically alive in the playoff race, the Predators are done. Any realistic chance they had of making it to the postseason evaporated with the final buzzer at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Nashville's 1-0 loss to Chicago was a death knell. The spirit is starting to waver and the flesh already was weak. With so many shortcomings in so many areas, the Predators just aren't good enough to get on the kind of run required to make the playoffs.

And reality is settling in.

"It's tough not to look at the standings," said Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, who stopped 29 of 30 shots. "It's tough not to follow the other teams. It's part of your job. You have be aware of what's happening around you."

Then he added: "We still have nine more games to go and there are a lot more points on the table."

But are there enough points available? Not likely. The Predators need to compile 53 points in order to have just a 40.8% likelihood of reaching the playoffs, according to the number-crunching website sportsclubstats.com. That means Nashville needs to go 7-1-1 in its nine remaining games.

And does anyone really believe this team is capable of going 7-1-1, especially when two of the remaining games are against the Western Conference-leading Blackhawks, beginning with a return game at Chicago on Sunday night?

What's the point anyway? Outside of keeping their playoff streak alive and getting a small financial transfusion to the budget via a couple of home postseason games, it would be futile. This team simply isn't equipped for an extended playoff run.

Even if the Predators somehow squeezed into the eighth and final playoff spot, they almost certainly would draw the Blackhawks in the first round. Even though they've played close games in two of Nashville's three losses this season — 3-2 and 1-0 in the last two meetings — Chicago is clearly the dominant team.

April 28: Ottawa Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the tiebreaking goal, and added an assist in the 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins. The win solidified the Senators as a No. 7 seed heading into the playoffs.
Bob DeChiara, USA TODAY Sports

April 27: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had 20 saves against the New Jersey Devils in his second shutout of the season. With the Rangers 4-0 win, they avoided meeting the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.
Debby Wong, USA TODAY Sports

April 27: Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal Neal completed a hat trick during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Pittsburgh Penguins won 8-3.
Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports

April 25: After only two and a half months removed from a torn Achilles tendon, Erik Karlsson returned to the ice for the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 to clinch a playoff spot.
Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

April 25: Columbus right wing Cam Atkinson scored two goals in the Blue Jackets' win over the Dallas Stars. The win was crucial, as Columbus remains in playoff contention.
Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

April 24: Mike Smith, whose Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated before the game started, made 33 saves, including this one against Joe Thornton, to beat the San Jose Sharks.
Matt Kartozian, USA TODAY Sports

April 21: There will not be a better top performance this season, as the Boston Bruins as a whole defeated the Panthers 3-0. It was the Bruins' first victory since the tragic events that plagued the city over the past week.
Winslow Townson, USA TODAY Sports

April 21: LA's Dustin Brown had two goals in the Kings' 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars. The win gave the Kings sole possession of fourth place in the West, and a better shot at home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

April 18: New York Islanders forward John Tavares had two goals and one assist in the 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York's win prevented Toronto from clinching a playoff birth.
John E. Sokolowski, USA TODAY Sports

April 19: New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur recorded his 121st shutout in the 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The win brought New Jersey's 10-game losing streak to a halt.
Eric Hartline, USA TODAY Sports

April 16: Winnipeg's Andrew Ladd celebrates after scoring against Tampa Bay. Ladd scored twice, notched an assist and netted the decisive goal in a shootout in a 4-3 win over the Lightning.
Trevor Hagan, AP

April 12: Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad had the game-winning goal in a shootout against the Detroit Red Wings. Chicago's win clinched the Central division for the first time since 2010, when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.
Rob Grabowski, USA TODAY Sports

April 10: Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo wasn't supposed to start, but Cory Schneider came down with the flu. Luongo, making his first start since March 18, had 40 saves in a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames.
Sergei Belski, USA TODAY Sports

April 10: Boston Bruins center Gregory Campbell, middle, moved up to the top line because of injuries, scored twice, one a short-handed goal, in a 5-4 win against the New Jersey Devils.
Julio Cortez, AP

April 10: Colorado goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere's contribution to the Avalanche's 4-1 shocker against the Anaheim Ducks came days earlier when he ripped his teammates' work ethic. That sparked the last-place team and Giguere made 21 saves in the victory.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

April 9: Pittsburgh right wing Pascal Dupuis scored a goal and notched two assists in a 5-3 win over the Hurricanes. Dupuis and the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division title.
James Guillory, USA TODAY Sports

April 9: Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky makes a kick save against the Sharks. Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots and earned his fourth shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over San Jose.
Russell LaBounty, USA TODAY Sports

April 8: Anaheim Ducks right wing Radek Dvorak scored both goals in a 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers. He has three goals in five games since signing out of Europe.
Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

April 7: Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) scored an empty net goal against the Nashville Predators in a 5-3 win. Kane and the rest of the Blackhawks are the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff spot this season.
Rob Grabowski, USA TODAY Sports

April 5: Jussi Jokinen of the Pittsburgh Penguins joined his new team via trade earlier this week. Jokinen scored one goal in regulation, then tallied the only score in a shootout in the 2-1 win over the Rangers.
Justin K. Aller, Getty Images

April 4: Newly-acquired veteran Jaromir Jagr scored the lone goal for the Boston Bruins in a 1-0 win over New Jersey. The 41-year-old forward was traded from Dallas earlier in the week.
Michael Ivins, USA TODAY Sports

April 4: Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop recorded a career-high 45 saves in his first appearance with the Lightning. Thanks to the shutout, Tampa was able to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0.
James Guillory, USA TODAY Sports

April 4: Columbus forward Marian Gaborik had the go-ahead goal and added an assist in his first game with the Blue Jackets. After being acquired from the New York Rangers earlier in the week, Gaborik led Columbus to a 3-1 win over Nashville.
Mark Humphrey AP

April 3: In his first game in a Rangers jersey, Ryan Clowe received the first star of the game award. Clowe scored his first two goals of the season in a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Debby Wong, USA TODAY Sports

March 30: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun salutes the crowd after shutting out the New York Islanders, 2-0. Vokoun made 35 saves and earned his second straight shutout.
Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports

March 30: Edmonton Oilers left wing Taylor Hall, right, celebrates his goal with teammate Corey Potter, left. Hall had a hat trick by 7:53 of the first period, breaking Wayne Gretzky's record for fastest hat trick from the start of a game.
Jason Franson, AP

March 29; Dallas Stars right wing Jaromir Jagr had one assist and a secondary one at that. But it made him the first European with 1,000 assists and helped end the Minnesota Wild's seven-game winning streak.
Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports

March 28: New York right wing Colin McDonald, middle, scored twice for the Islanders, who would go on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout. New York improved to 10-4-1 on the road with the win.
Eric Hartline, USA TODAY Sports

March 28: Phoenix's Rostislav Klesla aided the Coyotes' 7-4 blowout against the Nashville Predators by tallying four assists. The Coyotes used a huge first period to trounce the Preds, ending their seven-game losing streak.
Mark Humphrey, AP

March 26: Carolina defenseman Jamie McBain helped Evander Kane notch a goal when he scored on his own net. Kane also added three assists in Winnipeg's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
James Guillory, USA TODAY Sports

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The Blackhawks scored a goal 5½ minutes into the game on Saturday and then slowly squeezed the life out of the Predators, controlling the puck while also playing their signature sweltering defense.

The last straw came when the Predators got nothing out of a four-minute double-minor penalty against Chicago's Daniel Carcillo for high-sticking in the third period.

All in all, the Blackhawks beat the Predators at their own game, which Chicago goalie Ray Emery said added up to "boring hockey."

"That's a team that you've really got to play some boring hockey against," Emery said. "We got an early goal and we were really mindful of not giving them anything."

It's hard to put your finger on exactly when things went south for good on the Predators this season. That 1-4 road trip a month ago dug a deep hole. The abysmal 7-4 no-show at home against Phoenix on the previous homestand was a killer, as was the 3-1 home loss to Columbus last Thursday.

Even before the recent slippage, it was going to be an uphill climb. The shortened schedule — 48 games instead of the usual 82 due to the lockout — was a blow. This is a team that needs to grind out things over the long haul. When it became a sprint, the Predators were in over their heads.

Because of their offensive limitations, the Predators struggle to string together five- and six-game winning streaks. Instead, they play everything close, often going to overtime and then to shootouts. They don't score enough to overcome their defensive mistakes.

"It's tough when you're not putting the puck in the net," Rinne said. "It's not like we're not trying. We're getting enough chances."

Indeed, the Predators had several opportunities in the third period on Saturday, but couldn't convert.

"I don't know how we did not bury a couple of those," said forward Mike Fisher.

Added Nick Spaling: "We have got to put those away this time of year."

And time is running out.

David Climer is a columnist for The Tennessean in Nashville, a Gannett affiliate. Follow David on Twitter @DavidClimer.